Sympathetic by nature…

[Roonil Wazlib]

Ok, I’m driving myself crazy here. I would love to have a mealy parrot. Does anyone know of any rescue places that adopt out amazons in need of a home in Australia? I know a breeder that breeds the mealy parrots, and he will have babies ready to go this time next year, and I am jumping out of my skin to get one. I’d love to adopt though - better to get a bird in need, but I don’t know where to look for an amazon here in Australia. I’m not sure we have very many...is the problem of unwanted birds somehow less of an issue here then in America? I haven't yet been in to an RSPCA shelter, which I plan on doing - but I have been to their website, and the birds that are up for adoption, I’m either too far away from (and cant exactly go trekking around the county side, looking in every shelter) or don’t think they would make a good fit for my family.

I think I’ll feel terribly guilty about buying the amazon from the breeder because there are so many birds that need rescuing (like my cats, love them to death, but do feel a bit guilty sometimes that they came from a pet shop)...but it also feels like most of the potential adoption sources (apart from two) I find are: “Beautiful Hand Raised _____ for Adoption. Three months old. $2,500ea” Pufft - thats not adoption honeys, thats selling! Makes me angry. So “adopting” one of those birds will be the same as “buying” from the breeder :/

Should I feel guilty about wanting a particular species? I’m practically 100% sure that the mealy amazon is what I want to bring into our family, unless, of cause, I do happen to go into the shelters and fall in love with one - but then still I’ll be worried because there are so many horror stories about not getting the right fit for your family, and I’m just running around in circles, and am about to cry lol

[Wolf]

The first thing that comes to mind is that there is no reason for you to not hold out for the bird that you want.
The next thing that comes to mind is about the horror stories. The reason that they turned into horror stories is because the owners did not know what they were doing and should have got help long before things turned bad. The truth is that there is not a parrot that fits so much as you are willing to accommodate the needs of the bird. As far as I can tell, with the exception of two species, all parrots do just about the same things regardless of size and they appear to need basically the same things and for this reason except for size and noise level there is not much about a parrot to fit to your home. From there on it is a matter of you fitting yourself to the parrot.

[liz]

Rehoming or rescue usually means everything not just the bird. Most places want to get rid of everything with the bird to recover some of their expense. Yes, a rescued bird comes with history and habbits. It also comes with knowledge. It has been around people of course sometimes they were bad people and you have to teach it that you are safe and will love him. The bird already is aware. It is like adopting a child that is out of diapers and able to feed itself. It is also able to communicate in various ways.

Buying a talking bird from a pet shop means it has probably been around a while and unless it has papers you have no idea how old it is or how many homes it has been through. The pet shop can tell you anything.

Buying from a breeder might give you a baby without history but it has to be cared for like an infant.

Every critter I have right now has been a rescue. These guys know where they have been and what they had to go through and even have flashbacks. They also know that you give them food, warmth and love. They are actually grateful, including the ones who bite from fear.

Find a rescue group or shelter near you and volunteer some time while you learn about species and personalities of individuals.

http://www.rescueme.org sends me notifications of birds still in their homes and looking for new ones.
http://www.craigslist.org is where most of mine came from. (I am searching for 2 more female cockatiels and it hurts me to see all of the throw aways that are desperate.) Key Bird Rescue in your search to see what is near you. Most will even know the personalities of their birds.

A male cockatoo, I think his name is Snowball or Snowflake was turned into a rescue by an old man who said he just could not tame him. He still does not like touched but the shelter found out he had dancing talent. He has been making commercials all over the world. I watch one from Japan. You can find him on http://www.youtube.com .

Sorry for the long post. Sometimes I get carried away by emotion.

[Roonil Wazlib]

The reason im worried about adopting a bird with a bad history is that I dont think im well equipped enough to handle teir needs. Its something id like to do in the future, bur not till i have got some more experience under my belt.

Liz, I have tried to find places near me. Thats the problem. I can seem ro find any - like I said ill be going to the rspca, the closest one being an hour away and checking it out there. Im from Australia, and both sites you gave me the link to, dont seem to have Australia as an option... nor any amazons

[liz]

Sorry. I forgot where you were.

[Roonil Wazlib]

no worries liz - its just so frustrating here trying to find places to adopt that are legit. Holden from Melbourne is going through the same thing, and seems to have been on the only re-homing parrots website as i have, and his closest rspca is over an hour away plane trip

if there were as many parrot adoption places over here, like there is in america, i'd be there in a heartbeat, volunteering and spending time with them, but there really aren't any bird rescue places that i can find...

I get emotional too, hence the post, lol. I want to help save a parrot in need, but it seems to be a really low chance in my circumstances at the current moment to be able to do that. I am hoping to be around here for a while, seeing if anyone knows of a rescue place in Australia that is close to me.

[Wolf]

I am in USA, and know things are different there from here. It is my understanding that the bird rescues operate sort of underground. With this in mind, I would start looking for bird groups and such as the owners of birds are probably your best bet, just keep letting people with birds know what kind of bird you are looking for and that you think that you would prefer to adopt and older bird. It may take some time or it may not help at all but it may pay off.

[liz]

In my opinion (and it doesn't seem to match anyone else) I would prefer to adopt from an owner who wants to rehome. If a bird made it to a shelter it is being cared for.
Here their are so many birds who were bought from a pet shop or breeder. After a few months they decide they don't want the work or noise. I call them "throw aways" because of that.

[Pajarita]

I don't think it's so much that the rescuers are all 'underground' but more that they are not as 'organized' as they are here for the simple reason that they don't have the HUGE overpopulation problem in Australia that we have here... it's a matter of culture or mentality, I think, Aussies been vastly different from Americans (mind you, I am not putting down Aussies, quite the contrary!).

Finding a rehome of the species you want will be hard. And you are right that asking that much money for a 3 month old baby is not rehoming, it's selling. What we call 'basement' or 'backyard' breeders here in America are doing the same thing, they title their ads as 'Rehoming' and ask for an 'adoption fee' but, in reality, they are selling and only use those words because of the negative connotation that their activity has.

I also don't know how anybody can assure they will have chicks in a year unless this person is running a huge operation (in which case, the birds are not been treated right) because nobody can guarantee a bird will breed.

Maybe you should not be so set on just one species... Personally, I don't see the benefit in it because they are pretty much like any other amazon and, besides, each bird is an individual and chemistry is 50% of the bonding equation which you cannot assess with a baby (the other 50% been experience which you don't have and a certain personal affinity or knack for understanding parots which nobody really knows whether they have or not until after they live with one for a couple of years, at least). They are a large species, as prone to hormonal 'issues' as any other Amazon and recommended for experienced owners, again, just like any other amazon, so why so set on them? I have the sweetest Panama and Blue Front girls and had a wonderfully affectionate RedLored, LilacCrowned and YellowNaped one -the biggest difference is not in the species but in the gender and the proper care.

Now, as to baggage... well, I guess you can't really go by me because I don't take in a bird because I 'want' it but because it 'needs' it so the greatest majority of the ones I have came to me precisely because of real bad and serious baggage that made them VERY difficult to adopt out (I am talking hitting the bird with a fist, wild-caught used as breeder all his life, neglect that borderlines abuse -25+ living in a basement, etc). And, although with some of them took a couple of years (I don't want to lie to you) and lots of patience and tweaking and retweaking and reretweaking my approach, they all ended up working out just fine. Granted that some of them will never be 'pets' that cuddle with you or even accept touch but they don't attack me, they listen to me and they are as healthy and as happy as they could be living in captivity and that's enough for me and them. But, with the exception of one male amazon that had been punched by his owner (and this is so far, mind you, because I have reason to hope we will eventually have a much closer relationship), all the birds that I took from other people ended up been perfectly good birds (Zoey, Isis, Freddie, Zachary, Naida, Sophie, Codee, etc).

What I am trying to say is that baggage doesn't necessarily mean 'forever bad and without redemption'. Give a neglected parrot a good diet, a solar schedule, enough hours of freedom from a cage, flight, patience, persistence, consistency and love and the parrot WILL bond with you. And, in truth, that's the key to any good relationship with any parrot: bonding and, although this is pretty much guaranteed with a baby, it's doesn't necessarily mean forever, either...

[liz]

I paid $10 to an over crowded breeder for Shadow and Lemone'. (So over crowded that the poor things slept hanging on the side of the cage for a week before they realized they could have a perch.) I was told they were wild and could not be touched. The first time I let them out to fly they took a step up when they were tired.

Maggie was a breeder bird with no physical contact for 4 years. She will not step up even when she is tired but she does not bite or fight me when I scoop her. She will always come to the part of the cage that is closest to me.

Tommy steps up out of cage and gives kisses. Tammy flies back to her cage when she knows I am after her.

None will step up in cage. But I think they are doing really good just being happy birds.

Myrtle was kept in a cage too small for cockatiels for a year. In a dark dining room with a gray in the cage next to her that wanted to kill her. She was a physical and emotional mess. She still won't let me touch her head unless she is under my hair but you can't tell by looking at her today that she was ever anything but a happy little girl.